Original Maria’s Pizza 2 opens

The Original Maria's Pizza 2 recently opened for business in Princeton at 918 N. Main St. in the former Nelson Drug Store. Owner Vince Mazzarisi (left) and his son, Anthony, who will be the manager, hold a pizza.

PRINCETON — Owner Vince Mazzarisi has been very happy with the public’s support of Maria’s Pizza 2 since it opened in Princeton on July 1 in the former Nelson’s Drug Store at 918 N. Main St..

“The first day we were full,” he said. “The place was packed, and everybody was very happy.”

People were pleased with the pan pizza, stuffed pizza and chicken strips, he added.

“We got lots of positive comments about what we did to the building,” he said, referring to the several months it took to transform the first floor of the former Nelson Drug Store building into a restaurant.

Mazzarisi has owned and operated Maria’s Pizza in Dixon for 24 years and was first exposed to Princeton when his brother opened a pizza place in Princeton for several years before closing it seven years ago.

“My brother always liked the town when he owned the place,” Mazzarisi said. “I hated to see my brother sell it. I always thought about coming back but couldn’t until the person my brother sold the business to wasn’t in town anymore.

“We have nothing to do with Anna Maria,” he said. “We are not affiliated with her at all.

“We are open from 3 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday,” he sad. “We will offer pickup, dine in or delivery within a 10-mile radius of Princeton.”

The phone number is 815-872-2222. There is seating for 90 people.

The restaurant is named after Mazzarisi’s sister, who was beloved by her four brothers growing up in Rockford, he said. Mazzarisi’s brother, Frank, runs a pizza restaurant in Freeport while his other brother, Joe, has one in Amboy.